Walmart founder Sam Walton invented absolutely nothing. But he copied everything that everyone else in retail was doing that was smart. In the process, he created the world's largest chain of retail stores - and became one of the nation's richest men. Steelmaker Andrew Carnegie wasted no time trying to reap great wealth from radical innovations in metallurgy. "Pioneering don't pay," he said. Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett cloned his mentor Benjamin Graham's approach. And plenty of others - including me - have cloned parts of Buffett's approach. Why don't more people do this in business... in investing... and in life? Some folks seem to prefer learning things the hard way. I've never understood why. Unless you really are a Jonas Salk or an Alexander Graham Bell, it's hubris to start from square one and try to create something entirely new. It's also time-consuming, frustrating and expensive. Yet people seem to have something in their DNA that prevents them from adopting good ideas easily. That's unfortunate. If you watch what the smartest people are doing, you can apply their best ideas to your own life, your own business and your own portfolio. Mohnish Pabrai, an Indian-American businessman, may not be a household name. But he is one of the preeminent investors of his generation. Pabrai claims that he owes his success entirely to following the methods, principles and ideas of those he most admires. "When you encounter these truths that other people don't understand, you just have to latch on to them big-time," he says. "Anytime you get a truth that humanity doesn't understand, that's a huge competitive advantage." Some people worry that others might find their ideas derivative. Pabrai isn't one of them. He only cares what works. Follow his example. Make a habit of searching for the best ideas. And adopt them unhesitatingly. Why don't more people do this? Because it requires them to check their egos at the door. Good investing, Alex |